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Big-town
image, small-town methods

Networking still seen as top job-search
strategy

By Jonathan J. Cooper

February 18, 2006

Forget
surfing the Internet for hours on end.
This once-popular job search strategy,
despite all the hype, still hasn’t
replaced the time-tested concept of
networking.

Some
Kyrene Corridor job seekers,
particularly those hoping to replicate
the high-paying management and
executive-level positions they once
held, say personal relationships are
proving their worth more than ever
before.

By relying
on tried-and-true networking methods,
job seekers say they often land a job
before it’s ever posted in the public
domain.

Networking
not only increases one’s chances of
landing a job, say its proponents, but
simultaneously helps the un- or
under-employed cope with the
emotional-psychological burdens of their
situation.

The Kyrene
Corridor provides an excellent
environment in which networking can
really produce results, say many of
those who have tried it.

“The
reality...is that it is a really small
‘big’ town or a really big ‘small’
town,” said Eric Walton, who was
recently hired as an executive at a
Kyrene Corridor customer-relations
management firm after a two-year job
search.

“Many
people get jobs through networking.”

Often
triggered by involuntary layoffs and
force reductions—sometimes expected,
sometimes not—unemployment carries with
it a host of emotional and financial
burdens which can be difficult to
handle.

Volunteer-run networking groups, long a
mainstay for those seeking job or career
changes, have taken on new importance
with their ability to bring together
individuals with similar goals.

The
groups’ members meet regularly to
broaden their sphere of connections,
hoping to meet somebody with an inside
scoop and a contact at a desired place
of employment, all while meeting new
people and making new friends in what
can be a long and difficult stretch.

“The job
search is a difficult time in people’s
lives, and it’s important that people
know that they’re not alone,” said Molly
Wendell, a commercial real estate
specialist who volunteers her time as
managing director of Arizona Executives,
a networking group that brings together
manager- and director-level job seekers.

“And it’s
important for them to have a place to go
where they can network with their peers
and identify opportunities and contacts
that will lead them to the next job.”

Arizona
Executives is a 3½-year-old organization
which has grown from an original four
members to its current 1,000, about 50
percent of whom are “alumni” currently
satisfied with their employment but who
continue to assist the active
job-seekers when possible.

About 98
percent of Arizona Executives members
“are really good at helping others once
they land (a job) because they have been
in their shoes. They know what it’s like
not to get a return call when you’ve got
a lot of time on your hands,” Wendell
said.

Having
spent the past three years working
extensively with unemployed Arizonans,
Wendell has noticed trends in the
process. The number-one factor in
landing a job, she said, is beyond the
control of the applicant: The state of
the economy.

And based
on the time it’s taken her recent job
seekers to land work, Wendell says the
economy is in pretty good shape, at
least compared to when she started with
Arizona Executives.

“The big
difference between now and three years
ago is that three years ago there were
so many people out on the market and
willing to take things for less,” she
said. “And now good talent has the
ability to be picky. You’re interviewing
(the employer) as much as (the employer
is) interviewing you.”

Inherent
in the job search process, however, are
the rejection letters and frustration
that leave holes in self-confidence and
self-esteem, on top of the initial
trauma of a layoff. Wendell said
networking organizations work to create
an atmosphere of excitement designed to
boost spirits.

“I find
that in groups like ours the attitude is
much more positive in people who are
looking, because the opportunity is
exciting,” she said.

“It’s
exciting to figure out, ‘Gosh, what
could be next?’ So groups like ours
really do a good job of having a high
level of great attitude.”

Helen
Garigliano, a human resources
professional looking for work through
Arizona Executives, says sharing
experiences is another means of helping
to bolster spirits.

“It’s
always good to be with a group of
professional people to understand that
you’re not the only person that’s been
laid off, or that’s been looking for a
job, and how long it takes to find the
right job.”

Walton,
the customer-relations management
executive, also stressed the importance
of attitude in a job search. He noted
that he’s held five different jobs in
seven years, and cited attitude as a key
to landing each one.

“(Unemployment) always has an emotional
impact, and you have to deal with that,”
he said. “And how you deal with that
reflects how quickly you come out of
unemployment.”

Even
though he is currently employed, Walton
said he continues to network to keep his
options open, and to ensure a solid
network is in place at any time. He said
networking is not an innate skill.

“You have
to be able to talk to someone without
asking for a job,” something that can be
extremely difficult when faced with
unemployment, he said. “It’s actually a
skill that can be taught.”

Walton
also continues to meet with job seekers
about once or twice a month to help as
best he can in their search, he said.

“When
you’re out of work five times in seven
years, you really learn to appreciate
the value of someone else’s help,” he
said. “I got jobs because of other
people’s help. But it’s way beyond a
payback system. It’s very fulfilling to
me.”

Dan
Corsetti, a Kyrene Corridor information
technology professional, has been
searching for a position as IT director
or chief information officer for the
past two months after falling victim to
a reduction in force in his last
position. He said he stays positive by
looking at his past achievements

“If you dwelled on (being laid off), it
could obviously cause one to have lower
esteem or morale,” he said. “For me,
I’ve had so many successes in my career,
I can rely on that to fall back on.”